The Golden Handcuffs: An Evolutionary Dead End

I studied evolutionary biology in graduate school. I don't really get to use it for my livelihood, but I learned an important philosophy from that degree that eventually shaped my current worldview.

We humans evolved around 200 thousand years ago in an environment that molded our brain, as well as the rest of our body. For tens of thousands of years, our environment, diet and culture changed very little, and the change was small enough for evolution to "catch up". Then agriculture changed our diet, and to some extent, our lifestyle abruptly. The Industrial Revolution then further expedited the change in our environment without giving our bodies the chance to adjust. And ever since the rise of the internet, our environment has been changing exponentially, and seems to have no plan to stop. We humans are now perpetually desperate to run a 21st century software on an age old hardware, and sure enough, that all happens at our own expense.

What does this have anything to do with my immigrant experience in America? Well, the perks that come with the hyper-development in countries such as the USA do not come for free. While USA generously bestows us with our secondary requirements such as money, luxurious cars and gadgets, and not to mention social status back home and bragging rights to parents and jealousy among relatives, it fails to provide us with our primary needs such as a communal life, interaction with nature, an active lifestyle, a healthy amount of leisure (highly underrated) and wholesome organic food at an affordable price. It’s very common to hear that the United States gives you golden handcuffs, and in my experience, it was not very far from the truth. 

For many from developing countries such as Nepal where opportunities are very scarce, survival is the immediate resolution, and the USA and similar countries sure look like a dream come true. While the majority of people are way past that survival mode after a few years, they still continue to operate in that mode. Most people I know are willing to sacrifice their mental and physical health as long as they keep receiving the gratification in the form of a glorified social status and praise from the neighbors back home. 

To me personally, the USA was a very appropriate place to be in my 20s and early 30s, when I was full of energy, could work hard to earn money, and was more than eager to indulge in the luxuries the country had to offer. However, once I was in my mid 30s, I started craving for a more traditional, communal and a laid back lifestyle with a plethora of leisure and most importantly, peace of mind. 

And I was more than happy to sacrifice income and material luxuries in exchange.